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Prosecutors charge teen with felony in nude cell phone pictures case
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It is simply contemptible that a Utah prosecutor would file felony charges -- that have the potential to absolutely ruin a young man's life -- over what is essentially a really stupid adolescent move. As many intelligent conservatives have said before, I deplore the "proliferation of felonies." The charge of felony -- a class of crimes that once commanded the death penalty -- has become way too common. Keep the misdemeanor charges and throw the book at the kid if that's what's needed to "send a message," but a felony charge is typical government overkill.
This lawyer says that prosecutor ought to be fired.
There are many solutions to the incident, but they will require common sense.
Wake up, America!
Good work Davis County District Attorneys Office.
Charging a 15-year-old boy with a felony for being a 15-year-old boy?
Who are these clowns with law degrees?
This is basically a Status offense. If the boy were 18 and the girl was 18... there wouldn't be a problem here. In my mind it is like underage drinking.
I read comments about this all should be kept between the parents and the kids, well it would seem that if the parents were involved in their children's lives in the first place none of this would have happened. I also liked the comment about giving your kids a stern talking to. Yeah, that'll stop them from doing asnything like this again. My kid would loose his cell phone before you could say "text message".
Maybe we should stop looking to blame the "them" or "they" in our society and look at the own decline of morals in our own homes. The kids broke the laws, they ashould know better. My understanding is that after the age of 8 they are accountable for their actions. Or does that not apply in cases like this???
OBVIOUSLY NOT
It is a small step from what they are doing to taking pictures of classmates unaware (bathrooms, dressing rooms etc); if they have not already.
As a parent I would like some warning that juveniles my kids are associating with have engaged in such behavior.
If a 50-year-old man were doing what these kids did, would you be here defending him by arguing he was just being a dumb adult? Somehow I don't think so.
Kiddie porn is a serious crime, and I'm glad. I don't care how old the maker was.
To those who said 'boys being boys' in an earlier post: Not all of us out there believe in the objectifying and degradation of women in our society.
I just love all the arm-chair judges, jurors, and lawyers out there who think they know everything, including the best legal and social resolution, when they know next to nothing about the case.
Get real.
Wait until the facts are in before you cast your judgment.
For example, WHAT IF this one kid, the only one charged with a felony, used one of the images to coerce another into doing something sexual, dangerous, and/or illegal, "or else I'll put this on the web with your real name under it." You want to leave that for the parents to work out? Whatever.
True, we're limited to what has been published in the papers, and journalists are infamous for their pathetic attempts at legal reporting. But nothing I've seen of this case has given me the least hint that any charges more than misdemeanor lewdness would be justifiable.
The stigma of being labeled a sex offender for life would have been too harsh.
I believe that "Eye for an eye" is a lower understanding of law. There is no mercy or forgiveness in this. I still believe in fulfilling justice but those who would have no mercy would deserve none as well. Being LDS I also feel that we are judged based on how we have judged.
Place this example with the court. They weren't even Eye for an eye...they are being harder than that. I believe this is happening WAY too much in our country right now.
More teenagers are going for life than EVER before. We are becoming less forgiving.
A felony will ONLY RUIN the life of a 15 year old. I might have been just as stupid when I was 15. Half of the adults in Utah who commit worse crimes get less. Why kill this kids future? He will NEVER have the type of jobs that I can because something he did at 15!?
Why do we even have a legal age of 18 if every teenager is tried as an adult now? Judge harsh and be judged the same.
"Parents, do not try to shield your children from consequences." President Hinckley spoke at length about how youth today often feel entitled and free from any behavioral expectations and how parents are enabling these feelings by protecting their kids from punishment. Have we forgotten already?
The kid needs probation or community service or something, but a felony record? At age 15, he probably had no idea the firestorm this would create, or how anal and aggressive the morality police/prosecutors are here in this state. Do you think any other state besides Utah would be taking this that far?
After reading all this discussion regarding this issue I just have one question.
Who is it that always crys foul everytime someone attempts enforce the law?
A: Criminals
B: Law abiding Citizens
Your response to this question tells a lot more about which side of the fence you are on than it does about the validity of the prosecution.
"Good people never loose any sleep worrying about their nude pictures being prosecuted and how that will affect their lives, because anyone with any sense, juvenile or adult dosen't take nude pictures of themselves."
I thought that we as citizens(through or legislators, city councils etc.)decided what would be considered legal/illegal in our society and then in most cases defined possible punishments.
If the offense(whether caused by Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter, Buisnessman, Teacher or Preacher)is charged with the appropriate violation of a misdemor, felony or whatever the law was.
THEN it goes to COURT to determine the GUILT or INNONANCE and to evaluate the circumstances and to specify the punishment as allowed by the law. That may end up being strict or not depending on the facts presented in court.
If we don't like the law & how it applies (to everyone) then we need to work towards getting it changed.
Just an off-hand comment about electronic messages...you do not control that they just go to your friend, I would bet there are a number of backup copies that are kept of all computer messages. Who know who will see them, capture them, or do what with them.
Obviously there has been a failure somewhere and the proper values have not been properly instilled.
I agree they should be charged!
If some kid sent a picture like this to my daughter, they might have something worse than a felony charge to worry about.
Get with it --THIS IS BAD STUFF
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